Tiny Tri-Cities Beats Big Boys With Mobile RDC

With just $25 million in assets, 4,000 members and one credit union branch, Tri-Cities Credit Union in Kennewick, Wash., rolled out a mobile check deposit application on May 22.

A big deal to this small credit union is that it became mobilized before the other two credit unions in the county – $1.2 billion HAPO Community Credit Union in Richland and the $1.2 billion Gesa Credit Union – have theirs up and running.

“We’re not in competition, “said Doug Wadsworth, president of Tri-Cities Credit Union. “But it sure is fun to be first.”

The Tri-Cities area comprises Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, a metro area of about 250,000 people in southeast Washington.

The mobile app is open to all members that Tri-Cities serves and already people are calling and asking how to sign up, Wadsworth said. There is no cost to members and the price of bringing the convenience on board was relatively inexpensive and easy, he said.

“All in all is cost the credit union was about $4,500 and that includes everything,” he said. “My board pushed for this and were very excited to see it up and running. They’re progressively minded.”

Check images, along with all other app data, are transmitted securely over 2048-bit SSL with 256-bit encryption and accounts are secured by traditional username + password, plus devices must be activated via email or online before the user is allowed to access RDC or any other secure features such as account summary or transfers.

Accounts are automatically logged out after 10 minutes of inactivity just like internet banking and devices can be deactivated remotely by the member through internet banking or by calling the credit union.

Duplicate check images are detected and rejected. Computer Marketing Corp. in Sandy, Utah, is providing the FLEX core processing system and the mobile functionalities.